Ezekiel 36:26
You see, He’s like this man who is constantly knocking on the doors of our hearts. But we answer, “Jesus, wait—just wait a second. I am not ready yet. I am almost done. Let me just tidy things up in here before you come in.” He waits and waits but no matter how hard we try to tidy up, it does not seem to get any cleaner. And yet he still waits and waits and knocks and knocks..
Eventually, He takes out the key, the key he had all along, unlocks the door, and enters the home. Cobwebs fill the corners, paint and paper torn from the walls. Broken furniture is found all over the dust-filled wooden floors. Bits and pieces of glass are on the ground. There is little light in the room and it seems as though the light bulbs have been burnt out for some time. He looks at the corner of the room and finds a mirror, which shows a distorted image. We stand there in the middle of the room, trying to not make eye-contact, trying to hide this mess.
Yet He puts His hand on my shoulder and smiles.
“Let’s see what I could do.”
He starts by taking off His sandals. He opens the windows and lets air flow in. He starts taking cobwebs down from the ceilings. He tears off the layers and layers of paper from the walls. He fixes and mends the broken furniture and puts them back in place. He picks pieces of glass off the floors. He places new light bulbs, lighting up the room. He then puts up a new mirror, which reflects a clean home.
Through all this, we stand there watching. He does all this gently and quickly yet it seems as though He is taking His time. It is His joy, His delight to continually tidy up our hearts.
Lastly, He shakes the dust off the sign which had fallen off the door.
He lets it hang on the doorknob—“Welcome to My home.”
“I will give you a new heart, & I will put a new spirit in you. I will take you your stony, stubborn heart & give you a tender, responsive heart.”
